Newtown Superintendent Being Considered For Post In Stratford

NEWTOWN — Superintendent Janet Robinson is being considered for the top school job in Stratford, and, if it is offered to her, she said Monday that she'll accept.

The news comes less than three months since 20 young children and six educators were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The shooting on Dec. 14 has shaken the town and launched a national debate about school security, mental health and guns.

Robinson started searching for a new job months before the shooting, after the Newtown school board declined to renew her contract last year.

Stratford's board of education has been searching for a superintendent at least since July 2012, according to the school system's website. The town's school board is scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss hiring Robinson.

Newtown Board of Education Chairwoman Debbie Leidlein said the board received an e-mail at about 5 p.m. Monday from Robinson saying that the Stratford school board is voting Wednesday on its superintendent vacancy.

Leidlein said that if Robinson is hired in Stratford, Newtown's school board would probably look to hire an interim superintendent.

"We definitely would want to make sure that we went through the next steps very carefully and make the right decision for our school community and for our community as a whole," Leidlein said.

Newtown is also looking for principals for its middle school and for Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Sandy Hook's principal, Dawn Hochsprung, was killed in the Dec. 14 shooting. The school's former principal, Donna Page, is serving as interim principal until a replacement is picked.

Stratford Board of Education Chairman Gavin B. Forrester, III could not be reached for comment late Monday.

Robinson has been the Newtown superintendent since February 2008. The Newtown school board declined last year to renew a so-called "evergreen clause," which would continue her contract. The superintendent's contract is three years, which can be renewed annually to give the superintendent job security of always having a three-year contract.

The Newtown Board of Education declined to renew, or extend, the contract.

Both Robinson and Leidlein declined to elaborate on the relationship the board has had with its superintendent.

Robinson and Newtown's first selectman, E. Patricia Llodra, have spent time on the national stage in recent months. On Jan. 16, Robinson detailed the horrors of the shooting at a U.S. House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee hearing on preventing gun violence.

She advocated for stronger gun laws, saying, "Twenty beautiful and innocent, little first-graders were lost that day in a senseless act. They were no match for a troubled person with an AR-15."